Remotely controlled prisoner control belts with electronic stun units are well known and are used in various circumstances, primarily for controlling dangerous prisoners in courtrooms, transporting them to and from courtrooms, and for secure escorted travel on public conveyances. Such a device is disclosed in detail in our U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,885.
A difficulty which arises in the use of such belts occurs for example during aircraft transportation when operation of a radio receiving device may dangerously interfere with the communications necessary for navigation and operation of the aircraft, especially during take-off and landing of the aircraft. Physical removal and/or replacement of the belt, often worn under clothing, or removal of sufficient clothing to activate a key switch, may be cumbersome and inconvenient, and may compromise the safety of the public aboard the aircraft. Some stun belts have an exposed switch for deactivation, which may be operated by a key. A key switch presents a particular problem in this context since, while a prisoner may be willing to have the stun unit disabled, the prisoner may resist having it reactivated. It is therefore desirable to have a convenient means for briefly disabling the stun device, especially if the disabling means returns automatically to its enabled state, to accommodate aircraft travel.
A convenient, fast-acting disabling means provides additional advantages in the manufacture and testing of the device. Since a burst of stun power may ordinarily be delivered over six to eight seconds, a test can be cut off as soon as the test output is manifest, saving both power and wear on the stun device.
While wearable stun units can be made to be very reliable, both in activation and delivery of their charges, and in cutting off after the appointed interval, it is useful also to have an external means for externally, swiftly disabling the stun unit in case of a runaway discharge.